Cohen



Feb. 11, 1958 M. COHEN GARMENT DISPLAY RACK Original Filed April 11,1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l 9.1- .1 76 7a 4a 60 4a INVENTOR M 6m ATTORNEY Feb.11, 1958 M. COHEN' Re. 24,427

GARMENT DISPLAY RACK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Apr-i111, 1952INVENTORH ATTORNEY United States Patent Office Re. 24,427 Reissued Feb.11, 1958 GARMENT DISPLAY RACK Maurice Cohen, Miami, Fla.

Original No. 2,701,646, dated February 8, 1955, Serial No. 281,773,April 11, 1952. Application for reissue January 28, 1957, Serial No.639,595

4 Claims. (11. 211-165) Matter enclosed in heavy brackets appears in theoriginal patent but forms no part of this reissue specification; matterprinted in italics indicates the additions made by reissue.

The present invention relates to a garment display rack. Moreparticularly, the present invention relates to a rotatable garmentdisplay rack which is adapted to display garments and the like to theirbest advantage.

Prior to the instant invention, the heretofore known garment displayracks have generally been constructed having a rectangularconfiguration. However, rectangular racks have the disadvantage ofmaterially reducing valuable floor space and, moreover, are cumbersomeand usually very unattractive.

Although circular racks have been employed in the past for displaypurposes, none of the heretofore known circular display racks have beenconstructed to withstand heavy loads. Moreover, the heretofore knowncircular racks generally were not rotatable and, furthermore, were notconstructed with the idea in mind of accenting the appearance of thesurrounding furnishings.

The trend to modern furnishing, in recent years, has made it evidentthat the retail store of today not only requires that garment displayracks be structurally suitable to carry heavy loads of merchandise but,in addition, the racks must be attractive and pleasing in appearance andadaptable to modern surroundings.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a garmentdisplay rack of the rotary type that is capable of withstanding heavyloads.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a rotary garmentrack that is arranged to display merchandise to its best advantage.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a rotarygarment display rack which includes a minimum number of structuralelements that are easily fabricated and assembled.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a rotarygarment display rack that has great rigid-" ity and stability andthereby adapted to withstand heavy loads.

Still another object of the present invention isto provide a rotatablegarment display rack that is attractive and pleasing in appearance andthereby adapted to be utilized with modern appurtenances.

Other objects and the nature and advantages of the instant inventionwill be apparent from the following description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of one form of the garment displayrack;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the rack shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a partial vertical sectional view of a modified form of theinvention;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the rack shown in Fig. 3 with sections brokenaway;

Fig. 5 is a detail in section of a modification of a hanger lockingmeans; and

Fig. 6 is an elevational view of another modification of the presentinvention.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly Figs. 1 and 2, one form ofthe invention is illustrated comprising a base assembly generallyindicated at 10. The base assembly includes a triangular arrangement oflegs or supporting members 12 each of which is formed with a foot and abody portion. As shown in Fig. 1, the foot portions of the members 12extend outwardly and provide a stable and rigid base for the rack unit.The body portions of the members 12 extend vertically and definetherebetween an opening 14. The members 12 are firmly and securelylocked together by an upper locking plate 16 which abuts against the topportion of each member and is secured thereto by dowels 18. The upperlocking plate 16 has formed therein an opening 20 which is adapted to beconcentric with the opening 14 defined by the supporting members 12. Thesupporting members 12 are further secured in place by a lower lockingplate 22 and an inner lower locking washer 24. The locking plate 22 andwasher 24 are secured to the supporting members 12 by dowels which fitflush against the plate 22, thereby providing a neat and pleasingeffect. The base assembly is completed by a shaft 30 which extendsthrough the opening 14 defined by the supporting members 12 and isfirmly held in place by the locking plate 16, the lower locking washer24 and the lower locking plate 22, against which the shaft abuts.Referring again to Fig. l, the shaft 30 is shown extending upwardly andthrough the opening 20 in the upper locking plate 16. The upper portionof the shaft 30 carries a ball bearing unit 32 and a thrust bearing unit34, the purpose of which will be hereinafter described. A spacer sleeve36 encircles the shaft 30 and is positioned between the bearing units 32and 34, thereby holding the bearing units in place.

A hanger assembly generally indicated at 40 is adapted to be positionedon the shaft 30 and rotates thereon as a unit. The hanger assemblyincludes a bottom disc member 42 which is formed to receive the ballbearing unit 32 and thereby rotate with respect to the shaft 30. Ahollow drum 44, which includes an apertured lower plate 46, is securedto the disc member 42 by suitable means, such as a glue joint, and isenclosed at its topmost end by a plate 48 which includes a bearing cup50 adapted to receive the bearing unit 34.

The hanger assembly 40 further includes a series of hangers 60 uponwhich the garments to be displayed are conveniently draped. The bottomdisc member 42 is provided with a plurality of small holes near theoutside edge of the upper face thereof, the small holes adapted toreceive the bottom-most portion or prong 60a of each hanger 60. Thehanger units 60 are locked into position in the bottom disc member 42 bya lower locking ring 64, which slidably fits around the drum 44. Thelower locking ring 64 has a cutout portion 66 in the lower face thereofwhich provides access for the hangers 60. A plurality of bolts 68 extendthrough convenient openings in the lower locking ring 64 and the bottomdisc member 42, and are secured therein by suitable nuts, therebylocking the hanger prongs 60a in the bottom disc member 42.

The upper hanger portions, upon which the garments to be displayed aredraped, are secured to a. top disc member 70 in a manner similar to thelower hanger portion locking means. The disc member 70, which, ineffect, is the top of the rack, is secured to the [drum 44] plate 48 bysuitable means, preferably a glue joint. A plurality of small holes isformed in the disc member 70 near the outside of the lower face thereofand the holes are adapted to receive a series of prongs 60b formed 3 aspart of the upper portion of the hangers 60. An upper locking ring 72slidably fitting around the drum 44, has a cut-out portion 74 whichprovides access to the upper portion of the hangers 60. The locking ring72 is firmly compressive loads present when the hangers 60 are pivotedwith the garments displayed thereon. Thus, when the hangers 60 arepivotally moved in the same direction so that the horizontally extendingupper portions are no longer radial to the shaft axis, and define lessthan a right angle with a line tangent to the disc 70, then a torsionalload inversely proportional to this angle and directly proportional tothe weight of the garments supported by the hangers is produced betweenthe upper disc 70 and lower plate 42. This torsional load is absorbed bythe drum 44, thereby preventing the rack from tipping under load andallowing complete freedom of movement of the hangers individually orcollectively and, furthermore, providing for the unimpeded rotation ofthe hanger assembly 40.

The drum 44 is able to absorb the total torsional load due to thetransmission of the loads thereto through the interaction of the lowerdisc member 42 and the lower plate 46 and the interaction of the topdisc member 70 and lower plate 48. It is seen that the absorption of thetorsional loads by the drum 44 prevents relative motion between the topdisc member 70 and lower disc memb r 42, whereby the prongs 60a and 60bof the hangers 60 are maintained in vertical alignment, therebypreventing failure of the hanger assembly 40 under heavy loads.

As seen in Fig. I, the diameter of drum 44 which defines structuralmeans'is more than one-half the diameter of the upper and lower discs.The drum 44 is thus adapted to absorb the large compressive andtorsional stresses created when the hanger assembly, fully loaded withgarments, is rotated, or when the individual garment hangers arepivotally moved during the display of trousers positioned thereon.

It is apparent that the hangers 60 are secured in the hanger assembly 40in a manner such that they cannot be loosened, fall off, or sag, due toexcessive loads or undue handling. Moreover, the hangers 60 may bepivoted on the prongs 60a, 60b, thereby providing for flexibility ofmovement and convenience in positioning or inspecting the garmentsplaced on the rack. Since the hangers 60, carried by the hanger assembly'40, are rotatable about the stationary shaft 30, the garments carriedby the hangers may be displayed to their full advantage. Furthermore, amaximum number of people may inspect the garments displayed withoutinconveniencing or crowding one another.

The entire hanger assemb'ly'40, including the drum 44, lower and upperdiscs '42 and 70, locking rings 64 and 72, and the hangers 60, may belifted as a unit from engagement with the shaft 30, if repairs need bemade, or if the rack is to be stored or shipped by freight in cartons,or if another unit, anexample of which will be described hereinafter, issubstituted for the hanger 'assembly 40.

Referring now to Figs. 3 and 4, a modified form of.

hanger assembly is illustrated wherein a greater number of hangers isemployed. The modified hanger assembly,

generally indicated at 80, is adapted to be placed as a unit on thestationary shaft 30 which, as described above, forms parts of the baseassembly 10. The hanger assembly 80 includes a bottom disc member 82which. engages the bearing unit 32 and which has secured thereto thedrum 44. The drum 44 includes "the bearing cup '50 which receives theshaft bearing unit 34. The upper disc 70 abuts against and by suitablemeans is secured "to the top plate 48 of 'thedrum '44-andsrves as thetop of the rack. "A series ofhangers 60 are pivotally seeu'reain the 4disc and disc 82 by locking rings 72 and 64, respectively, in the mannerdescribed hereinabove and illustrated in Fig. 1. An intermediate disc 84is secured to the drum 44 by suitable means and is adapted to haveinserted therein a series of hangers 86. An intermediate locking ring 88locks the hangers 86 in place in the disc 84 but allows the hangerpivoting movement in the same manner as described hereinabove. The disc82, which carries the lower prong elements of the hangers 60, isprovided with additional holes to receive the lower prong elements ofthe hangers 86. The locking ring 64, which locks the hangers 60 in placein the disc 82-, also locks the hangers 86 in place in the disc 82.Referring to Fig. 4, it is apparent that the hangers 86 are arranged sothat they are spaced between the hangers 60 thereby provid ing adequatespace for each hanger to carry a garment. The garment carrying portionsof the hangers 86 are shown positioned below and extending beyond thegarment carrying portions of the hangers 60. Thus, each indivdual hangerin the upper and lower hanger groups can be reached simply and withoutinterfering with an adjacent hanger. By employing the additional hangers86 and arranging them in spaced relation with respect to the hangers 60,twice the normal amount of garments may be displayed on the rack. Thebase assembly 10, which is adapted to receive the hanger assembly 80, asa unit, can amply carry the increased load due to the rigid constructionof the triangularly arranged supporting members 12.

Referring now to Fig. 5, a modified form of the lower hanger lockingmeans is illustrated. A lower disc member 90 is secured to the drum 44by suitable means and has arranged near the outside edge thereof aseries of openings 92 that extend through the disc 90. A hanger 94 isshaped in a manner such that the lower prong element 96 is adapted toextend through the opening 92. A speed or lock nut 98 is applied tosecurely lock the hanger 94 in place. By this locking arrangement, thelower locking rings can be eliminated.

Due to the adaptability of the base assembly 10, it is also possible toreplace the hanger assemblies with other display units. In order toeffect the replacement, it is only necessary to remove the hangerassembly from engagement with the base assembly shaft and substitute asuitable unit constructed in a manner to be received by the baseassembly shaft and associated bearing units. One example of a unit thatcan be carried by the base assembly 10 is shown in Fig. 6 in the form ofa hang rod assembly. The hang rod assembly, generally indicated at 100,includes a cylinder 102 that is adapted to be rotatab'ly carried by theshaft 30, and the frame members 104, which are secured to the cylinder102 and extend generally up wardly. The frame members 102 carry acircular rod 106 at their top, which is secured in place by suitablemeans. It is apparent that a coat or suit or any garment hanging from aconventional hook hanger may be conveniently displayed by placing thehook hanger on the rod 106. The

entire hang rod assembly is rotatable around the stationary shaft 30,which provides for complete display of all the garments on the hang rodassembly. Other types of display assemblies can also be convenientlyplaced on the base assembly 10 and could take the form of a belt displayassembly or a skirt display assembly.

It is apparent that the display racks illustrated and described arecompletely adaptable and can be employed for a variety of uses.Moreover, the racks are extremely rigid and capable of carryingexcessive loads. Furthermore, a wide variety of garments to be displayedis possible because of the replaceable feature of the assemblies carriedby the base unit.

The assemblies utilized to display the garments are rotatable which notonly display the merchandise to its best advantage but allow greatfreedom of movement in inspecting or replacing the garments on thehanger units.

The hanger utilized with the hanger assemblies are securelyheld in placeand are accessible for instant use.

Moreover, the pivoting action of the hangers and the rotating feature ofthe hanger assembly enable the displayed garments to be inspected with aminimum of effort.

Furthermore, the present display rack, in addition to having outstandingstructural advantages, is unusually attractive in design. The moderndesign employed is not only neat and pleasing, but will display thegarments on the rack to their full advantage and, moreover, will accentthe appearance of the surrounding furnishings.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made without departing from the spirit of the invention and thereforethe invention is not limited to what is shown in the drawings anddescribed in the specification but only as indicated in the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:

[1. In a garement display rack, a hanger assembly comprising a drumsecured to a lower disc, said drum and lower disc rotatably mounted on ashaft, an upper disc secured to said drum, an intermediate disc securedto said drum located between said upper and lower discs, a first set ofhangers having the ends thereof disposed in said upper and lower discs,and a second set of hangers having the ends thereof disposed in theintermediate and lower discs, each of the hangers in said second set ofhangers being spaced between a pair of said first set of hangers] [2. Ina garment display rack as set forth in claim 1, wherein an upper lockingring engages said upper disc, thereby securing the hanger ends of saidfirst set of hangers therein, an intermediate locking ring engages saidintermediate disc securing the hanger ends of said second set of hangerstherein, and a lower locking ring engages said lower disc, therebysecuring the ends of said first and second set of hangers therein] [3.In a garment display rack, a hanger assembly comprising an upper disc,9. lower disc spaced from said upper disc, a structural member securedto said upper and lower discs and rotatably mounted on a shaft, anintermediate disc secured to said structural member and positionedbetween said upper and lower discs, a first set of hangers secured tosaid upper and lower discs, and a second set of hangers secured to saidintermediate and lower discs, each of the hangers in the second set ofhangers being spaced between a pair of the first set of hangers] 4. In agarment display rack, a hanger assembly rotatably mounted on a shaft,said hanger assembly comiprising an upper disc, disc means spaced fromsaid upper disc, structural means secured to said upper disc and discmeans, an intermediate disc secured to said structural means andpositioned between said upper disc and disc means, a first set ofhangers pivotally secured to said upper disc and disc means on an axisparallel to said structural means, and a second set of hangers securedto said intermediate disc and disc means and mounted for pivotalmovement independent of said first set of hangers on an axis parallel tosaid structural means, each of the hangers in the second set of hangersbeing equally spaced between a pair of said hangers in the first set ofhangers.

5. In a garment display rack, a hanger assembly rotatably mounted on ashaft, said hanger assembly comprising structural means, a first set ofhangers radiating outwardly with respect to said structural means, asecond set of hangers radiating outwardly with respect to saidstructural means, and projecting beyond said first set of 6 hangers,each of said hangers of said first and second sets being independentlymounted for pivotal movement on an axis parallel to said structuralmeans, each of said first and second sets of hangers including an upperarm and an inclined arm, disc means mounted on the uppermost end of saidstructural means and receiving the ends of the upper arms of said firstset of hangers, intermediate disc means secured to said structural meansbetween upper and lower ends thereof, said intermediate disc meansreceiving the ends of the upper arms of said second set of hangers, andmeans secured to the lower portion of said structural means receivingthe ends of the inclined arms of said first and second sets of hangers.

6. In a garment display rack as set forth in claim 5 wherein each of thehangers of said first set of hangers is positioned between a pair ofimmediately adjacent hangers of said second set.

7. In a garment display rack, a hanger assembly comprising structuralmeans, a first set of hangers radiating outwardly with respect to saidstructural means, a second set of hangers radiating outwardly withrespect to said structural means, each of said hangers of said first andsecond sets being I independently mounted for pivotal movement on .anaxis substantially parallel to said structural means, each of said firstand second sets of hangers including an upper arm and a lower arm, discmeans mounted on the uppermost end of said structural means andreceiving the ends of the upper arms of said first set of hangers,intermediate disc means secured to said structural means between theupper and lower ends thereof, said intermediate disc means receiving theends of the upper arms of said second set of hangers, means secured tothe lower portion of said structural means receiving the ends of saidlower arms of said first and second sets of hangers, each of the hangersof said first set of hangers being positioned between a pair of hangersof said second set of hangers.

References Cited in the file of patent or the original patent UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 131,696 Mathewson Sept. 24, 1872 318,252 Holmes May 19,1885 339,678 Morlan Apr. 13, 1886 353,435 Allen Nov. 30, 1886 567,507Raymond Sept. 8, 1896 7 610,163 Best Sept. 6, 1898 632,999 Grant Sept.12, 1899 752,151 Gies Feb. 16, 1904 824,083 Roach June 19, 1906 983,439Harr Feb. 7, 1911 999,189 Altvater July 25, 1911 1,139,273 Grifiin May11, 1915 1,695,322 Day Dec. 18, 1928 1,711,587 Brunhofi May 7, 19291,740,118 Rand Dec. 17, 1929 1,770,227 Buckingham July 8, 1930 2,119,946Bancroft June 7, 1938 2,129,426 Ienks Sept. 6, 1938 2,282,836 VanderveldMay 12, 1942 2,477,086 Riffert July 26, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 662,329Great Britain Dec. 5, 1951

